Bob Swinehart

1928 - 1982

Class of
2000 Bowhunter, Influence on the
Sport

Bob Swinehart
forever etched his name, into the annals of bowhunting history
after becoming the first stick bow hunter to harvest the Dark
Continents deadly "Big Five." Hill euphemistically called the
creatures Africa's
"notorious entourage." Whatever appellation was applied, the fact
is Bob Swinehart used a favorite bamboo longbow pulling about
100 pounds to down four-fifths of the dangerous African quintet.
Only his leopard was killed with a recurve bow, its lethal shaft
flashing from a 75-pound Ben Pearson takedown model that Bob was
field-testing for his Pine Bluff, Arkansas,
bowhunting friend. Afterward, Bob Swinehart was spotlighted in
"Ripley's Believe It or Not" for arrowing his 3-ton black rhino.

Howard Hill once said about Bob
Swinehart, "During my many years of hunting with the bow and
arrow, I have covered different parts of the world and have
hunted with many archers. Of these bowhunters I am convinced
that Bob Swinehart is the best big game hunter I have had the
pleas­ure of being with on the trail and in the bush.

"He not only is an extremely good shot with the bow, but in
addition has a great deal of patience, is a fine tracker and
possesses great courage... Also for a man his size - weight 170
and height 5 feet10 inches - his strength is prodigious. He can
handle bows pulling over 100 pounds.

"When this young man sets out to down Africa's Big Five with bow
and arrow -something he had been dreaming of since a boy I was confident that he would accomplish the task, providing
he did not get himself killed first. My only criticism of him
was that he took too many risks."